Love will be put to the ultimate test in this couple competition, where unlikely pairings give us the most hilarious and heart-pounding moments from awkward first meeting to almost-kisses. Or maybe I just enjoy seeing Jong-kook’s bashful side for ninety minutes. Hell, who am I kidding—I could watch his cheeks flush red next to a super enthusiastic girl all day.

EPISODE 198. Broadcast on June 1, 2014.

We open with Kwang-soo standing alone, letting passersby walk past while he waits for his teammate/partner/soulmate, a mirror (or just a parody) of the 2001 Japanese movie Calmi Cuouri Appassionati.

The woman he’s waiting for is none other than Narsha (Brown Eyed Girls), and I love how they both break character to laugh sheepishly in surprise. But good ol’ Kwang-soo assumes his role as the romantic hero again and runs to take her hand…

…then the record scratches, and they both greet each other for the first time in jondaemal and deep 150 degree bows. Hahaha, I love these embarassing and awkward first meetings.

It appears that the show has chosen to use movie parodies to introduce our cast members to their partners today. Over at the marketplace, Jong-kook silently places a pair of headphones on actress Ha Yeon-soo’s head (Potato Star 2013QR3, Monstar).

She’s a bright personality for sure, and Imma be honest—my mind immediately jumped to that classic X-Man Dangyunhaji moment between Jong-kook and Yoon Eun-hye. He places it back on her ears, replaying the moment: “Of course.” Pffffft, it’s practically been a decade and it’s STILL funny.

Her straightforwardness and competitive spirit makes a great complement to Jong-kook’s general bashfulness around women. That, and Yeon-soo is just plain adorable.

Jae-suk gets the Most Romantic-Turned-Hilariously-Strange intro today, as he parodies the Romeo and Juliet meet-cute with a tank of rockfish. Lol, the captions are great, like “DiCaprio… sorry,” and “Yoocaprio.” At least his Juliet is a beauty: actress Jin Se-yeon (Doctor Stranger).

Ji-hyo gets her Roman Holiday moment as someone walks down the steps. For a moment, we’re led to think it’s Gary, but it’s actually actor Park Seo-joon (Witch’s Romance). As for Gary, he greets his teammate, Girl’s Day Min-ah, with whom he shares a moment from the 2003 movie The Classic.

Ha, the staff even reminds Monday Couple fans everywhere that everything will be fine because they’re filming on a Tuesday. I have to say, these intros are just downright hilarious, but everything else pales in comparison to Haha, who stops in his tracks to see his female teammate at the pottery wheel.

The married man and dad can barely bring himself to step forward, let alone sit behind model Han Hye-jin à la Patrick Swayze in Ghost. In fact, he hasn’t even seen her face yet, and then immediately reverts back to awkward politeness once he does.

Suk-jin reenacts his Pretty Woman moment as Richard Big Nose, with a limo and everything to meet his Julia Roberts, aka Choi Hee a KBS announcer known as the baseball goddess. She asks, “We won’t spend the day in jail, right?”

In the car, Yeon-soo asks Jong-kook to sing something. Caption: He doesn’t normally sing on broadcast… And then he totally does. Haha.

Another kind of romance is brewing in a different car as Narsha jokes that Kwang-soo is deliberately driving around to spend more time with her. Her refreshingly assertive personality catches him off-guard, and he even steps on the brakes in surprise.

Our seven couples finally gather together, and Jae-suk says that Yeon-soo’s face is smaller than Jong-kook’s bicep. He likens Jong-kook and Yeon-soo’s difference in stature to Arnold Schwarzzenager and his character’s daughter in Commando (1985).

Either he’s has a large frame or she’s just petite, but I’d say it’s a bit of both. And then Yeon-soo tests the “her face is smaller than his bicep” theory right then and there. Ha, I love her.

The cast runs through the guest intros, like how they hope Se-yeon will say something instead of just laughing this time around, or how Jae-suk reveals that today ISN’T Choi Hee’s first SBS appearance like she claims (she was Jung Joon-ha’s pretend sister-in-law in 2006).

Seo-joon says that his first glimpse of Ji-hyo today was of her asleep, to which Jae-suk replies, “Ji-hyo sleeps anywhere you might think to yourself, ‘Could one sleep here?'” Case in point: Jumbo Jenga Tower.

Today’s couple race entitled “Unbreakable Love” will test each team’s solidarity in a series of games. Each couple will be given one of seven rocks (varying from fragile to unbreakable, save for an egg) and the top three teams can swap rocks for a different one after each game.

We skip ahead to see that Kwang-soo and Narsha get to choose who gets stuck with what first. Naturally, the couple who ends up with the strongest rock by the end of the final mission will be today’s winners, who will be awarded with an actual diamond ring.

Our first game will test the men in three rounds of hurdle races where they must be first to grab a dangling bouquet for their partner, lest a balloon filled with flour pops over their heads. While the ladies shout words of encouragement and tips to their partners, Haha yells to Hye-jin: “Don’t get your hopes up!”

It looks like Jong-kook has the advantage at the start, but when he jumps, another hand appears beside him. It’s Seo-joon (as the Frozen soundtrack plays again), but his hands slips and knocks the bouquet out of the way.

There’s a collective cry of pain from the guys and hah, it turns out they’re jumping on that acupuncture mat they hate so much. It’s Kwang-soo who grabs him first, but then he falls and gets stuck in a heap, the mat digging into his body. Owwwww.

But it’s Seo-joon who wrestles it away in the end and delivers it to Ji-hyo. A shower of flour falls upon the other ladies.

With Seo-joon out of the way, Jong-kook wins the second round. The men courteously help dust off the flour for the ladies, and then there’s Kwang-soo who basically helps Narsha headbang the flour out of her hair.

It’s the ladies turn against the hurdles in the third round, and Haha looks to his long-legged teammate for the win. It looks like Hye-jin has the lead when suddenly Se-yeon runs ahead. And then there’s Narsha, who casually walks over her hurdles.

Problem is, the only woman tall enough to reach the bouquet is Hye-jin, but the ladies aren’t afraid to steal it away from her. It quickly turns into an all-out catfight and Narsha pulls rank as the mat-unni, squealing: “I’m the oldest!”

It doesn’t work. When it’s a three-way struggle, including Se-yeon, Jae-suk steps off the platform. That’s a foul, and Jae-suk takes issue with Narsha’s high-pitched squeals. Jong-kook tosses up the bouquet once more, which leads to another squabble between the women.

The bouquet is mere inches to both Jae-suk’s and Suk-jin’s hands, but then Hye-jin’s fury kicks in, which makes the show wonder: “Is the witch smiling?” (A reference to JTBC’s talk show Witch Hunt which she’s a part of.) The bouquet ends up in Haha’s hands.

The other guys get dumped with flour, and Min-ah is so amused by Gary’s caked face that she cries, “Oppa, you’re really ugly!” Gary: “You think that’s the first time I’ve heard that?!”

The flour makes Kwang-soo’s teeth look extra yellow, so Narsha pats some flour on his teeth. Haha and Hye-jin are given the opportunity to switch either their own or another couple’s rocks just once, but appearances are definitely deceiving among the stones.

The first and second place teams are given a hint along with a chance to switch stones. Ji-hyo and Seo-joon learn that their similar-looking stone is actually stronger than Jae-suk’s team.

They try to deduce more out of their clue in the car, as Seo-joon says that he’s learned that a rock with a higher density makes it more fragile. Jae-suk and Kwang-soo discuss what types of rock would be strongest, to which Kwang-soo asks, “Marble?” Caption: Marble seems pretty breakable…

Their car drives past Suk-jin’s, making a jab that the mat-hyung is driving too slow. Narsha: “There isn’t even any traffic!” Jae-suk jokes that it’s because Suk-jin’s never taken the lead before. But he’s our new Ddakji King!

Our next game entitled, “Love is Bounce,” (just like Cho Yong-pil’s single “Bounce”) which involves one partner to bounce on a trampoline and play charades while the other makes guesses on their gestures.

Ji-hyo’s phone rings unexpectedly, which piques the others’ curiosity. Then Gary pipes in, “Do you have a boyfriend now? You should let me know so I know to speak carefully around you.” Hahaha.

Kwang-soo and Narsha are up first, and when Jae-suk says she’ll have trouble reading his gestures anyway, she cuts in: “He’s ignorant, isn’t he?” then adds, “I’m ignorant, too…”

As Kwang-soo heads downstairs, the others liken Kwang-soo’s gestures to a romantic comedy. Jae-suk remarks, “This is a romantic comedy, but you need a different lead.” Because their bickering dynamic is more like between friends?

Although Kwang-soo has no trouble jumping thanks to his tall height, the sight of his head popping up and down leaves Narsha frightened: “Smile! Wait that’s scarier, don’t smile!”

The odd couple guesses six people and characters correctly, and when the others goad Suk-jin that he has to be the one jumping outside, Suk-jin quips, “Choi Hee, you’ll be out there in five minutes!”

Gary and Min-ah are stuck with guessing songs, and right at the start, he can’t remember how the Wonder Girls&rs;quos song “Nobody” dance. He should be more worried about crashing into the wall for jumping so high or just being seen on the second story.

It takes a while for Min-ah to get the hand of it, but she ends up guessing two songs correctly. When Gary comes back upstairs, he asks why Min-ah didn’t get his version of the “Gangnam Style” horse dance, then gapes to hear that he’s been doing the wrong move the entire time. Ha.

It’s finally Suk-jin’s turn and Jae-suk jokes that they have to prepare an ambulance ahead of time for the mat hyung. “You might not even see him [outside the window]!”

I do worry for Suk-jin, though, especially since he collapses onto the trampoline after just two guesses. But Suk-jin’s a fighter and keeps jumping, and surprisingly Choi Hee manages to guess correctly with her limited view and clues. Jae-suk: “But all the animal sounds sound the same, ‘Aahhh!'”

Haha volunteers his teammate as the jumper, saying that she was 168cm tall by the sixth grade. Hye-jin: “What does that have to do with anything?!” She ends up going downstairs, and then Jae-suk says to Se-yeon shamelessly, “I think this is the trend, so get ready.”

Even if Hye-jin’s tall, she can’t (or is afraid to) jump very high, but thankfully Haha works around it. At one point, she shows him three fingers and the others interject: “Sahmranghae [versus Saranghae or ‘I love you’]” “Samgyetang [ginseng chicken soup]!”

Totally clueless, Haha screams, “Three?! What about it!?” (The answer turns out to be love triangle.) Hye-jin is upset to hear that they only got three items right. Haha’s all, “You should have done a better job explaining!” and then shrinks in fear.

Jae-suk is a high jumper, clearing the window with ease. His Hulk impression is pretty hilarious, but unfortunately for him, Se-yeon doesn’t get any correct. She’s still smiling although Jae-suk is fuming, and Suk-jin points out: “See how he’s not looking at you?”

Seo-joon’s a good jumper, too, but he isn’t so good at the explaining. That just tries Ji-hyo’s patience as he bounces around. They too end up with nothing.

At the next rock swap, Min-ah follows Gary’s instruction to switch to the egg(!) and Narsha sticks to the rock they have now. A few couples including Jae-suk haven’t even had the opportunity to observe the rocks up close, but they head out to the next game.

The following “Love is Hot” game takes place at a restaurant where two couples will face-off and the remaining couples will place their bets using rice cakes. The first round is a three-legged balance game where the first couple who falls loses.

Haha and Hye-jin choose Suk-jin and Choi Hee as their opponents, and the mat hyung openly admits that his hand is shaking involuntarily right now. He blames it on the recent ddakji competition. Aww.

The teams place their bets, and Suk-jin warns that those who vote similarly to Jae-suk will lose today. Jae-suk admits as much, but then says no one voted for the mat hyung.

Suk-jin starts attacking Hye-jin, but then the boys start grabbing each other’s hairs and faces like some schoolyard fight. The teams change up the rules to use both hands and that livens up the game as people teeter back and forth. Then finally, Hye-jin loses her balance and falls over.

Ji-hyo and Seo-joon are chosen for a variation of the Peppero game (using yellow radish instead), and Gary immediately interjects, “Are you sure?!” and gets all worked up when they whisper to each other.

They make the fantastic choice of Jong-kook and Yeon-soo, since Jong-kook’s cheeks will flush red in bashfulness. Ha, Yeon-soo is totally game.

The teams make Jae-suk wage his bet first (so that they can choose the opposite team), and although he thinks that Yeon-soo will be the only assertive one (true), Suk-jin argues that Ji-hyo and Seo-joon could be awkward. Ji-hyo: “We’re both actors.”

That’s enough for Jae-suk to vote for Ji-hyo and everyone else chants, “Jong-kook!” Yeon-soo: “Don’t cut off until I say the okay!” God, I love her enthusiasm.

Ji-hyo and Seo-joon are up first (Gary keeps a close eye, ha), and they waste no time to nibble down the radish, drawing closer and closer… and leaves a little slice behind. At the argument of whether their lips touched, Ji-hyo cries again: “We’re actors!” Whatever, you lucky girl.

Jae-suk is the happiest out of everyone, and now Jong-kook and Yeon-soo have to produce a slice less than 4mm. I’m pretty sure that he’s going to turn bright red from just looking directly at her, but really seeing El Tigre in his meek and bashful state is just variety gold.

He’s all embarrassed, saying, You know we can’t help but have our lips touch now. She continues to choose the right radish instead. LOL. He keeps chattering on like he’s stalling for time, instructing her to give him a signal when to stop. We should be worrying about YOU right now.

The best part is that nearly everyone has crowded around them by now, but Yeon-soo is completely unfazed. Then she totally goes for it.

We see everyone else’s reactions BUT Jong-kook and Yeon-soo, but damn, they produce a teensy silver, to Jae-suk’s disappointment. The staff makes the final decision and the difference is less than a millimeter but Jong-kook and Yeon-soo win it.

Jong-kook says he suddenly feels tired, to which Kwang-soo teases, “Your knees would buckle.” And then Jae-suk figures that means Jong-kook has finally moved on, and calls out (to Yoon Eun-hye): “Ahn-nyoung.”

When Jong-kook takes issue with that, Jae-suk says he was just saying his greetings (“hi” and “bye” are homonyms in Korean), then mouths, “Bye… it’s all over now.”

For their last round, our remaining three couples will have to crack eggs on each other’s foreheads, and whoever ends up with the raw one wins. Variety god Kwang-soo cringes, since we all know how that worked out for him last time.

The game starts off rather safe, as Se-yeon timidly cracks a hard-boiled egg on Jae-suk’s head. The question is Kwang-soo, and I will die laughing if he ends up with a raw egg.

Narsha has no reservations about slamming it on his head. It’s fully cooked, and Jae-suk says that’s how you do it on variety. So Se-yeon puts that advice into practice and cracks the next one… and the yolk dribbles down Jae-suk’s face.

The cast digs in to eat ddukbokki as they wait, and aw, Ji-hyo feeds Kwang-soo some food. Say what you will about what you might see in the cast’s interactions when the cameras are rolling, but at the end of the day, these guys truly care about one another.

We move on to the final mission location where the couples will smash each other’s rocks into one another. Whichever rock comes out unscathed will win.

The top three teams make their final switches, and seeing the rocks for the first time today, Jae-suk exclaims, “So THIS is what the rocks look like!” Suk-jin and Choi Hee are told of the top four hardest rocks (in random order), then make their switch.

Gary and Min-ah’s raw egg has no chance against Haha and Hye-jin’s rock. But the latter breaks when they strike it against Kwang-soo and Narsha’s rock.

Then they’re pitted against Jong-kook’s rock, and for a moment it looks like the clear stone is fine, but then Jong-kook lets the pieces fall to the ground. Things are looking great for Kwang-soo and Narsha as their rock withstands impact after impact. Suk-jin complains, “It’s because that rock’s big!”

Only Jae-suk and Se-yeon’s rock remains in the running. Kwang-soo’s rock fails to break the other, so they turn the tables and Jae-suk strikes… and breaks Kwang-soo and Narsha’s rock in two. Whoa.

Everyone can hardly believe it, and as promised, a diamond ring appears. It turns out that Jae-suk and Se-yeon’s rock, corundum, ranks highest on the Mohs Hardness Scale compared to everyone else’s.

Haha takes issue with the sudden diamond prize, saying, “Are you going to give us an apartment next week?” HA. The diamond ring is given to Se-yeon as her prize.

I was definitely looking forward to seeing Cutie PSJ, but the parodies, cast comradiere moments AND KJK’s partner forthright, funny and IN attitude made a great episode. KJK stalling, making sure his partner wouldn’t be uncomfortable as his comfort level dropped was priceless!

SJH had always been confident & expressed her opinion and now I notice that she is more comfortable in helping to direct the guests to achieve a good episode & ensure they have fun/get screen time. When SJH pointed out that she & Narsha are the same age, it made me think about the early shows…4 years ago. LKS is the maknae, but he’ll be 29/30 this year. Oh, how the RM family has evolved. This show makes me happy.

I haven’t watched this episode yet. I’m a couple episodes behind – work is keeping me busy – but I just wanted to shriek PARK SEO JOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON. I’ll have to move this episode to the top of my list now. lucky, lucky Jihyo!

it was really funny when they played the radish game.
at first i was getting excited for Seo Joon and Jihyo doing it together. but after Jong Kook and Yeon Soo happened everything just went blank!
i never knew i could see this side of Jong Kook, shy-sweet-doesnt know what to do. JUST PERFECT.

this episode confirmed (to me) that jihyo is single? i thought id have to wait and see whether she leaves her company or not. lol (i guess she doesnt have to do that)

it’s not in these pictures, but if you watch the radish game after jihyo and se joon, haha was cutely comforting Gary on the side. like massaging his nape and calming him down. it was quite fishy lol

1.There were a lot of funny parts, especially with Narsha and Kwangsoo

2. Haha’s reaction at the beginning after finding out his tall partner – LOL

3. YJS and his streak of bad luck until he turned the tables at the end.

4. KJK was really good in this episode, starting with his look at the beginning & the epic ‘OF course’ moment. He sang on air, and he gave his all in the 1st round but he was injured i think Hence he didnt play the 2nd round. And how can i forgot his chemistry with Yeon-soo He was shy and she was focused on winning just like Yoon eun hye?

5. Narsha with the crazy dance after having flour on her head and Gary, LKS blank white faces

5. The trampoline bounce game was really funny, laughed a lot after a long time

6. YJS expression after the egg broke on his face – priceless And also him saying he will treat SJH, saying Bye to Yoon eun Hye were funny as well

7. But inspite of all these, this episode will be remembered for The pepero game obviously!! I frankly felt that SJH was a little too confident on winning and chose KJK on purpose because we all know KJK is shy with girls. I have to applaud Yeon-soo for her determination to win because if not for her, KJK would never have done this. And if i am not wrong, they actually kissed if you look close enough

8. And I think LKS should have won the final game, YJS stone was obviously strong because it wasnt hit by the other stones. LKS stone took a battering from other stones and was weakened due to it.

Anyway, It was a fun episode and I am looking forward to the next episode eagerly!!

Actually, the stones are already tested before actual game. And the staff already knew which stone is the strongest or weakest. Its not a matter of how many times LKS’s stone was battered by other stones. It was already set that the stone YJS picked was the strongest. (They maybe used Moh’s scale as reference. :)) That’s why they can give clues which stone is the strongest.

I agree, but the strength order was before the stones were hit. No matter how hard the stone is, It will be weakened when you keep striking it because it will develop micro cracks. After that, its a matter of one strike for it to break. This is especially true in case of a big, irregular stone like the one LKS had. It was struck by FOUR other teams while YJS had a brand new stone. Its really not fair.

I felt that they could have done a tournament type play. One team will be up against another and the winner will move up to the semifinals, Then the Finals and at last the winner. That way the winner has to win THREE battles not just ONE. This final round was unbalanced.

Anyway, whats done is done. Hoping that this doesnt happen next time onwards.

yeah, although i am happy that YJS has won, but i agree with you on that one. YJS’s rock WAS the strongest but as you have said, LKS rock was weakened on top. And if they are really doing the winner by this, they should state HOW the order was in or it is unfair. Like it is according to the order they arrived or so on, and a tormanent style will makes it fair although YJS will still win having the strongest rock.
Like this episode though, although i dont see nametag ripping but the missions were very fun too and glad that JAe’suk’s curse broke since if it continues then we will already know the winner when there are betting games later.
Anyway, hope that they will make better and more fun episodes!

Great episode! Fun interactions and fun games. I’m glad they brought in a male guest for ji-hyo this time, since most past couple games tend to be all female guests and ji-hyo ends up with either Gary or Suk-jin. This feels fresher, and funnier too for the unexpected.

Ji Hyo And Kwang Soo Are Close & Best Friends in Real Life, all them are friends, the best friend in running man since episode 3 was kwang soo, always caring each other, the romance is beautiful, but the friendship is wonderful.

So glad the past few RM episodes have all been fantastic!
(After the never-ending mafia game, these last few episodes have been pretty refreshing.)

The staff who edited this episode really knocked it out of the park! I LOVE the romcom, DVD style scene selection theme that was used throughout the episode. The games were hilarious (omg that Pepero game, and how freaked out everyone else got when Jong-kook and enthusiastic Yeon-soo had to awkwardly almost kiss) and it’s actually astounding how RM cast and crew can take an absurd thing like “which rocks are harder” and turn it into an awesome themed episode.

Also wow, is RM doing so well that they can afford to move up from gold to diamond now? 8’D Lucky Jin Se Yeon. (I have to say, I like her way better in variety–she’s pretty lively, even if she doesn’t talk much–than in any drama she’s acted in so far.)

Thanks for the recap gummimochi!
Ha Yeon-soo just shot up to near the top of my list of favorite actresses. I liked her already because she did a good job in Monstar but this just solidified my love for her she’s awesome in variety.
My favorite part of the episode was definitely the sweet radish kisses. Jae-suk saying bye and silently mouthing it over now to Yoon Eun-hye was hilarious!!!
And lastly, Seo-joon oppa <3

1. Han Yeon Soo, while it’s the first time I actually see her, she was very competitive and ambitious and that’s what Running Man needs as guests, loved how she actually won the match with KJK against Ji Hyo and PJS.

2. Didn’t know who Choi Hee was until this episode and damn she’s a beauty. Loved how competitive she was also during the 1st game, I think her and Jin Sae Yeon were the only ones who never actually let go of the bouq at all both times (once after the jump ball). Loved the fact that because of her competitiveness, she was able to also help out JSJ in keeping his so called Miracle alive in the 2nd game. Also liked a lot of her reactions (aka the end with their rock breaking and how she reacted to the kiss in the 2nd game from both parties). As a guy, I loved how she also changed to shorts after the 1st game also, probably was looking at Minah and figured that she can show her cuteness also despite being what? the 2nd or 3rd oldest in that group?

3. Speaking of Jin Sae Yeon, when YJS recalled her appearing the first time with RHJ in Ep 119? can’t remember the actual # but I do recall she didn’t stand out between RHJ and CMS so being able to see her actually perform well this episode was great to see. Can’t really say for sure if she earned it at the end but she definitely was not a disappointment like the first time we saw her, afterall luck is part of this show as well.

4. Narsha was funny as hell, though the only part I didn’t really like was throwing the age card during the 1st game, but if that was just for laughs, then I gotta say it’s fine.
Despite that, I think the partner with LGS was perfect, with the bickering and such. Also techno dance.

5. Minah on the other hand, although I love her a lot, I can’t say she was as competitive as I thought she would be. I figured her being on the Idol World Champ or w/e its called, she has some competitive nature (and granted she did almost grab the bouq after JSY by getting to it 2nd), it seems like if partners were swapped for Gary (aka have JSY or even Choi Hee) I’m pretty sure it might of been closer for Gary to win this (without the whole “I think this egg is a darkhorse and is a hidden card thought process Gary had).

6. Park Seo Joon on the other hand was really good for Ji Hyo, very competitive, was able to keep up with KJK, couldn’t perform well 2nd game but was funny seeing how he can perform the jump well but act like crap lol. Also loved the opening comment where he told us Ji Hyo was nodding off before meeting him.

7. HHJ was.. ok, Nothing really stood up for her, she was pretty average, not strong but not weak also, was surprised that she lost the palm game, but I think Choi Hee was much more competitive anyways based on the 1st game.

8. YJS and JSY winning the whole thing all by luck lol. The Egg break got them the win at end. But gotta hand it to Gary for his crazy…

Forgot I also loved the part where Haha comforts Gary after Ji Hyo does her kiss. Shows that Haha understands that Gary probably does have something for Ji Hyo outside the show and gives him the pat after letting hiom know how the kiss went / how small the radish is (since it seems like Gary didn’t watch it clearly due to only being able to see her back)

I wish someday Running Man will bring all these bright amazing girl in one episode together. Like Ha Yeon So, Shim Eun Kyung, Han Hyo Joo, Go Ara, Gong Hyo Jin and some other active and fun girl. The show will be so fun haha…

Great episode as usual. I thought all the guests were entertaining and they had similar screentime. I was the most surprised that Narsha got along so well with the cast though. Like when all the boys went to help her with the powder and joked around. I guess she is closer to them than other guests which make sense.
Kwang Soo and her were really hilarious. I love all KS’s pairing though.
Jaesuk’s curse LMAO. It seriously is a curse though. I loved his expression of happiness when he thought Jihyo and SeoJoon would win lol. “don’t go home after filming” XDDD

“and aw, Ji-hyo feeds Kwang-soo some food. Say what you will about what you might see in the cast’s interactions when the cameras are rolling, but at the end of the day, these guys truly care about one another.”
People thinking that the cast don’t like/can’t stand each other after filming are stupid. I remember some people arguing they were like their variety personas but it’s so wrong. Haha, Gary, Kwang Soo and Jong Kook hung out with each other like every week. Whenever Jihyo was exhausted due to filming like in episode 178, it’s Kwang Soo who helped her, gave her food … Suk Jin and Jae Suk has been friends for 20 years ! Again, you have the trio of XMAN and blablabla. Seriously, it’s obvious they got along very well. That’s why Running Man is so precious. You just can’t try to make another RM without the cast because the cast is Running Man <3 I hope to see them together for a very long time

Many people says that running man it’s not famous in korea, but that it’s not true, for a 4 years variety show the ratings are great, always beetwen 10% & 13%, and the old times they made 22% to 25% in ratings.

Real man & dad were are you going & superman is back & roomate in 1 year lose viewers, running man is still here.

People saying that Running Man is not famous in Korea are stupid. They keep inviting a great variety of guests and their ratings are still double digits despite being in their 4th year. It’s not because the ratings decreased that all of sudden, people have forgotten all about the show.
We are almost at the 200th episode and I have faith that the show can go on for a longtime like Infinite Challenge.

I am laughing like a crazy when someone dares to say “but look, Real Men and DWAYG have better ratings” because if you actually look at the ratings, they are decreasing. Now, they are around 10%-14%.
Plus, despite being older and not as hot, Running Man still manages to beat its competitors in the timeslot. Isn’t it badass ? LOL.
So, of course, there are more famous shows in Korea like Infinite Challenge … etc. But saying that Running Man isn’t famous is all wrong. They have their own fandom and even celebrities fanboys and fangirls like Kim Soo Hyun, Kang Ha Neul, Han Hyo Joo … etc.

Ahhh I loved this episode’s coupling game! Which hasn’t been the norm lately… but lots of great moments here.

Ha Yeon Soo is a delightful guest. I really liked her on Monstar, but many actresses turn out to be more reserved on RM. Favorite moments were the radish bite off, the girls’ epic fight for the bouquet, and Jaesuk’s general frustration with his bad luck.

The parodies in the beginning were so eww…that they became funny…haha! Especially Yoocaprio! And they really did pair the people up quite well, esp Jong Kook with the daring Yeon Soo. My fav game was definitely the Peppero one. She seemed so calm. I guess actresses are different?? And Park Seo Joon was just a great bonus!

Kwang Soo is really something. I mean, every single guest paired with him never fail to entertain me, he always make sure his pairings shines and delivers. I just love him as always~

Gary and Ji Hyo should be couple in this episode..seeing how Gary looks when Ji Hyo kissing another guy..just heartbreaking,and ironically hilarious..XD

And Jong Kook, plus the tiny girl..wow..hhehe.

Jaesuk should be pair with someone else..his partner make him look…terrible. Maybe instead of coupling with different gender, how about couple him with Suk Jin and give them that perrero stick game..hehe

Haha partner is good even if she barely talks..but something about her that shine..maybe she like female Kwangsoo in the first episode. Very reserved and shy =)

Suk Jin partner was quite rude and selfish when she let Suk Jin the old man did the jumping job..come on, youre still fit and young,girl..stop acting like a spoiled little girl..maybe she afraid to break her finger nails.

Narsha was the star of this episode. Running Man needs to have her back as a solo guest, so the cast can enjoy her more. I don’t remember Jin Se Yeon saying more than two words all episode, despite being paired with Jae Suk of all people. It was unfair for her to keep the diamond ring; the two of them should have split the prize.

I am so in love with Park Seo Joon, and I’m not even watching his drama. My love stems solely from his first appearance on Running Man (where Son Ho Jun was equally as cute). I cheered when Park Seo Joon got the bouquet first. Not to mention, the “kiss” looked sweet. Maybe I should watch Witch’s Romance…

How do you split a diamond ring? No matter what they always give the prize to the guest. Jin Se Yeon did really well in this episode despite her not talking as much. In the girl competition she was really competitive and never let go of the bouquet.

This episode featured my favourite opening to a RM episode in a long time. I LOVE the romcom-style couple introductions, the music choices were absolutely spot on, and the DVD menu selection thing was a brilliant touch. Everything made me feel all fizzy and giddy and excited, like I was actually watching my favourite romantic comedy film.

All the guests worked well with their partners (special mentions for Narsha and Ha Yeon Soo) and the games were simple and refreshing without ever being dull. Possibly my favourite of all the couple-themed races RM has ever done (along with the Flower Tea replacement episode).

I must say that this has to be my favourite opening to a RM episode in a long time – I LOVED the romcom-style couple introductions, the music choices were spot on, the DVD selection menu graphics were a brilliant touch. I was 100% sold on the concept within the first 10 seconds. Shout-out to the editing/production team for this one – hell of a job well done!

Thoroughly enjoyed this episode. Since I always root for SJH/Ace to win, I was hoping. But in the end as long as the competition is fair I have no complaints. I thought a few of the couplings were a bit odd but seemed to work.

HJS being paired with KJK was a stroke of genius because she made up for nerves of steel where Joon Kook seems to melt when it comes to females. I think SJH miscalculated when she only took KJK into consideration in the pairing. As did YJS. But that’s what makes the luck of the draw what it is. ^__^

I’m not going to quibble too much about the stone hardness issue. I seem to recall they mentioned the winning stone is what produces rubies. Rubies are known to be the strongest stone out there.

As to sharing the ring. How was this to happen? I don’t think there is any question, no matter which team won, the female half was going to get the ring.

Haha was so timid (so unlike his brazen playboy persona – which he started using in X-Man) about re-enacting the “Ghost” scene and the fact that he wanted HHJ to quickly sit down again when she towered over him was only that much funnier when he played up her height (and his shortness) for the guessing/trampoline game.

Kookie has sung a few times on RM before (at the behest of female guests or when doing noraebang with Turbo songs); but yeah, he doesn’t sing nearly as much on RM as he did on X-Man or FO.

I knew Narsha would be great b/c she really is a hoot and has a great sense of humor.

Yeah, Yuri and Goo Hara were the most popular on IY, but it was Narsha and Secret’s Sunwha who had the talent for comedy.

1st time seeing Ha Yeon-soo and yeah, she really has a bright/cute personality but so petite (and young looking).

YJS’s partner, Jin Se-yeon (who kinda reminds me of Han Hyo-joo), always seems to be laughing/having a good time (as she did when she appeared on RM before), even laughing when YJS was steamed at her for not being able guess a single correct answer – but she was real fierce in battling for the bouquet (which was quite the catfight), along w/ Hye-jin.

Bad Ji-hyo appearing when her partner gives her the worst clues was great, as well as her showing the better/proper hand clues (such as for the frilled lizard).

The pickled radish version of the Peppero game was a classic.

Not just Kookie’s bashful reaction and Yeon-soo’s gung-ho take, but YJS taking the losing side again, as well as his Ahn-nyoung commentary to YEH.

Nice for Se-yeon to get the diamond ring prize, but really should have been a diamond pendant necklace considering the singles ladies.